When I returned to the camp, it seemed to be bustling with activity.
Crowding in were Neiaâs Holy Knights.
Seras has already gone out of the camp together with the princess.
From the looks of it......
It seems that the time they spent before her farewell she spent with her was reasonably well.
Seras noticed right away my return.
With a hand gesture...
âJust stay right there for now.â
After telling her so, Seras returned to dealing with the Holy Knights.
[It seems that Seras still had the affection of her subordinates.]
With her voice still changed, Eve continued.
[Iâm sure that the Princess Cattleya has a lot to do with the fact that sheâs still so well-liked.]
If you only look at her previous actions, Seras was the leader of the Kings who abandoned her country just when it was on the brink of being occupied by the enemies.
However, itâs likely that the princess skillfully manipulated their impressions of her.
âI had my own ideas, so I let Seras escape at that time.â
Did she explain it that way to the remaining Holy Knights?
Otherwise, it was unlikely that everyone would treat the Former Knight Leader with such warmth.
And, in fact, Seras came to this place as their alliesâ- She even brought allies to participate in this war.
âIâve been making Seras do things differently just in case something like this were to happen.â
And if it were explained like so, the Holy Knights...
âThe Princess let Seras-sama escaped with consideration for the benefit of our future.â
Then, they were convincedâ- or rather, they donât have any choice but to be convinced.
Regardless of what the intention may be, Serasâ escape at that time has led the situation to âthisâ.
Itâs because everything ended this way.
But well...
[In the end, all of Princess Cattleyaâs actions must have been for Serasâ best interests.]
[That Princess is just thinking about Seras Ashrain wellbeing huh.]
Touching her chin, Eve took a sidelong glance towards me.
[What is it?]
[Seras Ashrainâs âfutureâ now entirely depends on you though.]
âFuunnn...â I snorted.
[......I guess thatâs true.]
As we parted ways for the time being, a well-dressed knight turned up in the camp.
I could see Neiaâs crest in her clothing.
[Cattleya-sama, Duke Polarie has come to visit along with an Alion commander. How would you like me to respond?]
Tilting her head, the Princess checks her pocket watch.
[There should still be some time before the war council begins though.]
[No, actually......]
The knight glances at Seras.
[âWe were hoping to meet Seras-samaâ is what they said.]
Glancing down for a bit, the Princess have a small smile on her face.
[I see. Come to think of it, Duke Polarie was quite obsessed with Serasâ âremembrancesâ, wasnât he? However, you should rather get the permission of her âcurrentâ master rather than mine, donât you think?]
Saying so, the Princess looked towards me.
Then, the Holy Knightâs gaze followed hers and turned towards me.
However...... I have my convenient mask.
While wearing a mask, the others couldnât read the slightest change in my expression.
I may allocate my attention resource to controlling my expression towards other areas instead.
Stepping forward, I said.
[Duke Polarie is a noble from Alion, wasnât he? Would having Seras meet him to be in the best interest of the Holy Kingdom of Neia?]
For a moment, the Princess looks like sheâs struck by surprise.
However, she soon regained her smile.
[Thatâs right...... Duke Polarie is the next head of a dukedom thatâs highly renowned not just in Alion. So that we could maintain his good impression with âour countryâ, it wouldnât be disadvantageous if we consider the future...... or so thatâs what I think.]
âI see...â I said.
[In that case, it should be fine to have him talk with her on the condition that Princess Cattleya was to accompany them. Of course, that would only be if Seras herself is fine with it......]
Looking like she understood, Seras places her hand on her chest.
[Iâd be happy if I can be of any help to the Princess. Iâve also received Milordâs permission.]
Seras quickly left the camp with the Holy Knights in tow.
Atop her horse, the Princess stops near us.
[Thank you very much for your concern.]
[Iâve heard that in this war, the Holy Kingdom of Neiaâs return to the Holy Alliance will depend on your merits. That decision is made by Alionâs Goddess, the person who reigns as the de facto leader of the Holy Alliance...... In that case, the impressions from Alionâs most influential people should be important at some point. Besidesââ]
I look up at the Princess atop her horse.
[If youâre with her, I know that there wouldnât be anything strange happening there.]
[You can leave that to me. I know how to deal with those menâs âperverted idiocyâ to a much greater extent than Seras does. I will live up to your trust, Berzegia-dono. And then......]
The Princess is looking in a certain direction.
[That thing weâve talked about earlier, it seems to be ready. Iâve already given them instructionsââ The rest will be just as Berzegia-dono sees fit.]
I lightly bowed.
[Thank you for your assistance.]
[I feel that just this wouldnât be enough, considering what youâve done for us though. Including that incident with the Five Dragon Warriors, our debts toward you arenât something we could easily repay. Wellââ]
The Princess gracefully her hand over her mouth.
[If my marriage to Civit Gartland had gone just as planned, and if I had carried the child of âHumanityâs Strongestâ in my womb, and if my child had been born inheriting the blood of someone worthy of being called the strongest, I would have made my child carry the flag of the people opposing Bakuosââ or so thatâs what I think.]
She lightheartedly said.
She certainly is quite a frightening Princess-sama.
However...
[I guess it was because you were by her side, Seras was able to keep her âpurityâ among the impurities of this world.]
[...................]
[I really admire your iron will. Even after you lost your father, the former king, and even your own country, you never lost hold of your will. Always thinking of your country and striving to do your best...... This is exactly what a person who stands above others should be.]
In terms of the locations of each country, the Holy Kingdom of Neia may be an important piece in the future.
Thereâs no harm in flattering them and acquiring their goodwill.
......Well, all those flatteries Iâve said were actually true though.
Thereupon, the Princess...
[If I didnât feel that my people were worthy of my protection, I wouldnât have been so desperate in this place, I would have abandoned my country and fled long ago.]
âis what she said.
Fumu.
[That isnât just you acting on your duty as royalty, but thatâs also because of your personal feelings huh.]
[Thatâs also the same case with Seras. If I felt that Seras wasnât worth protecting, I wouldnât have protected her from the hands of my father, and I donât think I would have let her escape from the demonic clutches of Bakuos.]
[ââYouâre also a Princess worthy of such protection more than you thought. You should understand looking at Seras.]
Silence enshrouded the area for a moment.
I look at the appearance of the Princess lit by the bonfire slowly swaying about.
Her dignified features.
Her face is probably always wearing âmakeupâ.
I wonder if this unique atmosphere drifting in the air is because of her elegance?
Returning her gaze to me, the Princessâs eyes relaxed.
[Youâre a strange person, Berzegia-dono.]
[Everyone would think youâre strange if youâre wearing a mask like this.]
[Thatâs not what I meanâ- With all due respect, I never thought a gentleman like you would be what Seras likes.]
With a hint of admiration, the Princess said.
[Iâm also a little curious to see what youâll look like when you take off that âmaskâ. The strange thing is that you donât look like youâre acting on a false persona even when youâre currently wearing your mask. How should I say this...... Itâs like âthere are two real people inside youâââ or so thatâs how I strangely felt.]
â½
The direction Seras and the others were heading has somehow become crowded.
We decided to take a detour and avoided that crowd.
Unassumingly, I brush away the curtain with my hand.
I then stepped into the camp enclosure, followed by Eve.
(T/N: é£å¹ / jinmaku)
A curtain functioning as an improvised blindfold, concealing the interior of our camp from the outside.
However, thereâs no ceiling in our camp just like the Princessâ camp.
Looking up, I could see the clear night sky.
(T/N: Let me set this straight. Theyâre in a place where there is no such thing as easily made tents, so camps there are mostly just cloths over sticks. é£å¹/camp enclosure, however, are tents with cloths all over, acting as walls. if you have seen those animes with ancient Japanese settings like oda nobuna no yabou, you should be able to see them.)
(T/N: something like this, I think...)
And now......
Inside the camp were âthese thingsâ that I had asked the Holy Knights to gather.
Now then...
[I think itâs about time for us to return.]
Standing side by side with Eve, I look down at âthese thingsâ.
I had asked the Princess to prepare this camp enclosure along with another request from me.
Itâs the collection of the wreckage of the magical chariot.
[For starters......]
I used on the wreckage of the magical chariot.
The large wreckage freezes over in an instant.
Two war-mallets were placed in the camp enclosure.
This is also something I asked Neia to do through Eve.
Of courseâ- itâs a tool that we would need to smash the wreckage while itâs frozen.
I take one of the war-hammers in hand.
[We donât have much time. Letâs get to work fast.]
[Umu.]
And so, we began dealing with the wreckage.
Thereâs a limit to the number of targets I can freeze, so I could only freeze and crush them one by one.
I donât want to leave the wreckage of the magical chariot here.
I want to erase any of our traces as much as we could.
A magical chariot youâve heard from a report.
The wreckage of a magical chariot.
Thereâs still a big difference between these two.
Thereâs a possibility that the wreckage we would have left behind will become an unwanted âtraceâ in the future.
[By the way, I have one question......
Eve said as she worked.
[What is it?]
[If we just use the Gem of Teleportation to transfer this wreckage together as well, wouldnât it be better since we didnât have to go to the trouble of doing this?]
Thatâs the biggest question.
Why not just transfer the wreckage together too?
This is because thereâs one problem with the Gem of Teleportation.
It seems that thereâs a limit to the amount that can be transferred.
âIf there are too many materials within the range, itâs possible that not everything may be transferred.â
âis what Erika said.
Unless all the things we need to transfer has been confirmed, we should reduce the risk as much as possible.
Itâs just that...
âIf itâs the three of you, along with Pigimaru and Slei, you should be able to transfer for sure.â
âor so she said.
However, we canât guarantee that everyone will be transferred if it goes beyond that.
For this reason, we want to reduce the number of materials to be transferred as much as possible.
If this is the case, the wreckage of the magical chariot is the first candidate to be removed.
However, Iâm not comfortable leaving the wreckage of the magical chariot that will be the trace to our existence......
Thatâs where comes in.
Just like Ashintoâs corpses, this wreckage will be crushed and âerasedâ.
This way, thereâs almost certainly no trace left of it.
Iâm also assured knowing that I can do this by myself instead of leaving it to someone else.
[.......................]
For some reason...
I felt like weâre aiming to achieve the perfect crime.
Depending on how you look at it, is an extremely dangerous ability.
I could dispose of as many corpses and evidence items as I want, as long as my ability wasnât known by them. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
If this ability were to end up in the hands of a serial killer, it would be a really horrible story.
ââThinking about my ability, I immersed myself in this work.
And thus...
[......I guess that should do.]
[Umu. No one would think that these powders scattered around on the ground were originally the chariot.]
The only thing left on the ground were flour-sized powders scattered about.
The powders began scattering outside a little at a time through the gaps under the curtains.
Eventually, all of it will be drifted with the wind.
[All thatâs leftâ- should be our traces existing in this place to disappear.]
I take out the Gem of Teleportation from my pocket.
The more time we spent here, the more troublesome it can become.
Once weâre done with what we need to doâ- Staying here any longer will be unnecessary.
All thatâs left for us is to wait for Seras.
Then, Eve opens her mouth.
[However...... The Neians have done well to gather up all of the wreckage.]
Theyâre in a situation where they donât have much time to spare on other things.
This would certainly be difficult without the cooperation of Neia.
[How should I say this, theyâre quite diligent.]
I wonder if itâs because they were too influenced by the seriousness of their Former Knight Leader?
The tone of her voice containing a hint of relief, Eve spoke.
[Even so...... Iâm glad that no one had to leave after this timeâs battle. No one was deeply wounded among us. The chariot may have been broken but......]
Before we departed.
I remembered about what Erika roundaboutedly said.
â³
âThereâs no guarantee that we can return this chariot.â
ââ-Donât make me laugh. How the heck would you get through the Northern Demon Zone instead? If I wanted to get it back unharmed, Erika wonât even lend this to you in the first placeâ
Sheâs aware that she may not be able to get her hands on the magical chariot again.
Thatâs what she seems to imply.
âThatâs quite generous of you... that itâs making it hard for me not to think if you had some kind of hidden agenda.â
Erika replied.
âIf Erikaâs magical chariot and my handmade magic tools can take ensure your safety instead, then so be it. It will be better for Erika to wake up with this magical chariot destroyed, rather than realizing that all of you died even when I could have helped you. Especially when I think about Liz.â
â½
Remembering such a conversation, I look towards Eve.
Eve has got down on one knee, gently brushing the powder on the ground as if sheâs feeling thankful.
[Without Erikaâs help, all of us might have not made it this far. But then again...... I never expected that the Witch of Taboos had that much good intentions towards us.]
Not only that, Erika is also very smart.
She would certainly be an eyesore to a certain goddess somewhere.
My gaze lowered at the Gem of Transportation in my hand.
I couldnât drag her out of that place as my ally.
If thatâs the case, a long-lived race that can create such a thing is nothing more than just a hindrance.
[.....................]
If Erika was on the Goddessâ side......
She would be extremely troublesome.
Then, Eve noticed something.
[Mhmm, this presenceâ-]
[Thank you for waiting.]
Seras slipped through the curtains.
[You finished quicker than I expected.]
Seras smiled, though her brows were furrowed.
[Itâs thanks to the Princess. She skillfully brought that meeting to an end.]
She really did respond to my trust.
[How about that duke?]
The wry smile on Serasâs lips grew deeper.
[Should I say that the atmosphere when they welcomed me is too bewildering... How should I put it......]
Eve interjects.
[Itâs because the story of your beauty is no longer just a myth on this continent. For those who were longing to see you with their own eyes, it must have been like meeting a mythical god.]
I could certainly see a smile on her eyes, but Serasâ lips were crooked to a frown.
[That would be too much of an exaggeration.]
I asked a question.
[What was the reaction of Alionâs Duke Polarie?]
[Duke Polarie had come to visit, leading lots of his subordinates...... It was the first time I had personally met him but, well...... he was quite the passionate man.]
Although sheâs trying to choose her words, I could feel the bewilderment in her tone.
Seras just maintained the wry smile, looking like sheâs really troubled by a difficult problem.
[He even excitedly said âIâm not going to wash this hand I shook your hand with ever again.â or something like that...... I donât really know how should I have responded to that. The Princess said that âI dealt with the situation wellâ but...... Ah, speaking of which, Princess even suggestedââ]
The warhorse that Seras rode on this battlefield.
It is said that it was presented to Duke Polarie.
As for Duke Polarie...
âIâll keep this debt deep in my mind, Princess Cattleya.â
âor so he said, seemingly in a very good mood.
How should I put this...
I guess itâs no wonder that it would become an achievement for the âPrincessâ.
[I feel like even if that Princess were to switch jobs to a merchant or something like that, sheâd still be able to succeed even with enough composure to do something else...... So, are you done with that?]
[I was able to spend more than enough time alone with the Princess...... As for the girlsââ Iâve had more than enough words with the Holy Knights. All thatâs left is for us to wish each other good luck for the rest of our lives...... I donât have any lingering emotions that can be called regrets.]
[I see.]
[In addition, it seems that some of the Heroes from Another World were also there...... It was mostly men in there though...... Umm......]
It seems like she suddenly had difficulty speaking along the way.
She started talking about them while sheâs at it, but she realized halfway through that she had failed with the topic to talk to.
Or something like that.
Iâm not sure if sheâs being concerned about me or not, but she seems to be having a hard time saying something.
[You donât have to hold yourself back, just say it.]
[They seemed like nice people.]
[I see.]
On the other hand though, theyâre also the ones who tend to leave the thinking to others.
I guess those kinds of people can easily change depending on their leader.
If they were agitated by the Goddess, they could turn into a cluster of malice in an instant.
However, itâs probably because of the influence of being led by Sogou in this battle, right now...
âThey seemed like nice people.â
âor so her impression towards them will be.
In short, they were people who didnât have a firm sense of self.
And for thatâ- Iâm really thankful for.
If everyone in the class was like Takao Hijiri, it would be really bothersome for us......
Because the majority of them are like that, I can narrow down the number of people that I need to plan against.
[Ah...... My apologies. Even though Iâm certain that youâ-]
[Theyâre just people who let the atmosphere around them drift them away, but thereâs nothing wrong with thatâ- That doesnât make me think they were good people though. However, these are people we donât need to risk dealing with right now.]
If I were to mess with my classmates too poorly, I may have to run the risk of having to deal with the indeterminate factor, Sogou.
I want to avoid them, at least for now.
Instead of turning them into problemsâ- Iâd rather just consider them as non-existent people.
Itâs because they may become problems......
That I need to go back to the Witchâs home once more.
And thatâs why...
[Letâs go return, shall we?]
While fortifying the outline for our future plans, I spoke the work to start teleporting away from here.
(T/N: I dunno where to put this image, so Imma place this one here.)